


Conversations with my Muse

by R_Strailo (Strailo)



Series: Original Collections [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, essay's, grammar, other things, personal, various - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-06 22:31:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3150713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strailo/pseuds/R_Strailo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Various conversations that come to my mind about various things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Writing - Brandywine

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Conversations with my Muse  
> Subject: Writing  
> Muses: Brandywine  
> Edited by: Beastie  
> AN: Thank you for reading and reviewing (if you do) to this set of stories. It's rather slow going since I have to do my own research to write this stuff. Please note that this is educational fiction!! Not non-fiction. Future essays will be considered such...>>
> 
> Anyways, enjoy. Really. ^_^

_It was a dark and dreary night…_  
  
“No. Too Edgar Allen Poe sounding,” he muttered, highlighting the line and hitting his delete button with extreme prejudice.  
  
 _The night was filled with the howling of the wind…_  
  
“My Lord. What am I? A third rate writer?” he asked himself, flopping back into his chair with a huff, shoving back his dirty blond hair and glaring at the screen as if it were the cause of all of his problems, glasses glinting in the lamp-light.  
  
His companion looked up from his book and raised a dark peach eyebrow at the other, getting a huff and a glare for his effort. Smiling in return, the man put his notepad aside and stood up, walking over to his creator.  
  
“What’s up, Sunny? Story giving you hell again?” the character asked, raising his eyebrow once more, getting a piece of crumpled piece of paper tossed at him.  
  
“Yeah, again. You’d think I would be used to it but it’s always so frustrating for me when it does happen,” Sunny moaned softly, slumping in his chair, taking to pouting at his screen.  
  
“Okay, so, explain to me how the hell you write your stories,” Brandywine demanded, perching himself on the desk corner after clearing it.  
  
“Which type do you want me to start on? Fan fiction or originals?” Sunny asked in response, picking up a pencil and some scrap paper. With the fae watching him doodle, he waits patiently.  
  
“Fan fiction first, since it’s probably the easiest,” Brandywine replies.  
  
“Not. Fan fiction is just as hard to write as originals,” Sunny snorted. “One shots or chapter stories?” he asked, adding some definition to the lips he was working on.  
  
“One shots first.”  
  
“Alright, so how I start a one shot fan fiction, say something like ‘A Chibi Valentine,’…I have to know the characters,” Sunny started, but seeing the blank look on Brandywine’s face explained. “The one with the Yohji and Omi pairing for Shinigamikitsune that I did for the Valentine’s swap?”  
  
“Oh! Right. The one that was a bitch to you,” Brandywine replied, blushing lightly and fidgeting on his spot.  
  
“I swear your hair isn’t peach but blond sometimes,” Sunny drawled slowly, smirking at the icy glare tossed at him.  
  
“Bite me and continue, bitch,” Brandywine said, crossing his legs.  
  
“Fine, fine. With Weiss Kruez, I know the characters from three episodes and the manga, which I’m still reading,” Sunny continued, starting to doodle once more. “Now that I know what characters I’m working with, I have to figure out if I dare to try for smut, love making, fluff, etcetera.”  
  
“Fluff?” Brandywine asked.  
  
“Warm and Fuzzy Feelings. WAFF for short,” Sunny replied, before continuing on. “With ‘A Chibi Valentine’ I went with WAFF, otherwise known as fluff. Now that I know what’s going to happen, I have to choose what the setting will be, how I will get them there and what they should say.”  
  
“And here I thought that you just sat down and pounded it out in 10 minutes,” Brandywine purred, sliding off the desk and laughing at the snarled ‘fuck off, uke-bitch’ that was sent his way.  
  
“Anyway, once I have the set-up down, usually in my mind and not in my head, I start to write. I usually do this with music playing and ignoring the world for the most part,” he continued, standing up and stretching slowly before tugging up his jeans. “Now from there, I tend to go over it a few times as I work on it. After finishing it, I scan through it once more and send it off to my beta, if I have time before the post date.”  
  
“Why do you put a date on yourself if you still need to send it to a beta?” Brandywine interrupted, getting a pen tossed at him.   
  
“Quiet and sometimes I have a post date. Contests, birthdays, Christmas, swaps…you name it, I’ve probably done it,” Sunny replied, settling back into his chair and running a hand through his hair once more. Pulling off his glasses, he raised an eye brow at Brandywine who was playing with the pen.   
  
“That makes you a slut of writing wouldn’t it?” Brandywine drawled with a sweet expression on his face before dodging the flying snow globe. “So mean. Continue with what you were saying.”  
  
“Twat. Anyways, I’ve done all sorts of one-shots. Original one-shots are just about the same, but this time I have to figure out which characters to use, what their personalities are, what they look like. How they’ll react to a situation,” Sunny continued, sending a dull look at Brandywine, who just smiled brightly at his creator.  
  
“So, fan fiction one-shots and original one-shots are nearly the same, but the original is a bit longer a process,” the peach-haired man stated, laying out on the couch and relaxing.  
  
“Yes, pretty much,” Sunny replied, looking at his screen before pressing the back button until the last line was completely gone.  
  
“Okay, so…what’s the difference between the one-shots and your chapter stories?” Brandywine asked after a few minutes of watching Sunny tap out a line only to delete it.  
  
“First of all, length. Since they are chapter stories, how many pages I write are considerably shorter then my longer one-shots,” Sunny automatically answered, shoving away from his desk. “An average chapter for me is about five to six pages long and somewhere around four to six thousand words.”  
  
“I thought most chapters are longer then that though,” Brandywine replied, watching the rather short male stand up and limp to his book shelf.  
  
“Eh, that’s other writers though. If I make a chapter to long, I give everything away or it ends up an information dump on the readers, which really kinda sucks,” Sunny said with a sigh, browsing through the various books before pulling out two books on quotes and a thick binder full of printed papers.  
  
“Okay, hold up there. Information dump?” Brandywine asked, sitting up with a confused expression on his face. “What the fuck is that?”  
  
“Language. Will you kiss your partner with that mouth?” Sunny teased, moving back to his desk, dropping the books down onto it.  
  
“Bite me and tell me what an information dump is already,” was the reply, including a flying pen.  
  
“Fine, fine. Bitchy much?” Sunny muttered, frowning slightly as he moved to sit on one of the recliners near the TV set. “An information dump is where you take a bunch of stuff and just pile it into one chapter or paragraph. If you notice, I spread out my descriptions for the most part.”  
  
“Yeah, I noticed that. But why?” Brandywine inquired.  
  
“Because that makes it easier to read,” Sunny stated simply, shifting to get into a more comfortable position. “That, and if you spread it out right, you can easily make a chapter that would be one or two pages long into a chapter with 6 or 7 pages long. Now, can I get back to how I do chapter stories?”  
  
“Yes, now that you’ve told me what an information dump is,” Brandywine said, sniffing slightly before sneezing.  
  
“Bless ya. Anyway, chapter fan-fictions and originals start out about the same as before, but this time I have to get into greater details on what I want for the story,” Sunny continued, smiling and handing over a tissue to Brandywine. “I have to figure out the cast, and when and how they will show up. The little details of the plot so I can’t call it Swiss cheese at the end; much like I’m doing with ‘A Different Life’ at the moment, no matter how much people like it.”  
  
“I like it,” Brandywine retorted before blowing his nose. Sunny rolled his eyes and smirked at his character.  
  
“I know you do, but I don’t. And the only reason why you like it is because it has Xander in a threesome relationship,” he said, watching the blush cross Brandywines cheeks.  
  
“Fuck off.”  
  
“No thank you. Now, as I was saying, after I have the plot thought out and most of the angles that I want, I then have to work out who is going to be doing what and who the main character will be,” Sunny continued, eyeing his desk, wondering if he should get up for his sketch pad. “After I do that, I need to write the first chapter. It has to be captivating. It has to spark interest.”  
  
“It has to be longer then 2 paragraphs,” Brandywine muttered, making his creator burst out in laughter.  
  
“Yes, that too. I don’t care what people say, but that first chapter is all important and will help set the tone for the rest of the story,” he said after taking a few minutes to catch his breath. “With fan fictions, I can usually skip over character development, but with originals I have to spend quite a bit of time playing with my characters. I refuse to write with half-baked characters.”  
  
“Is that why you’ve been playing with me for so long?” Brandywine asked, trying hard to pull on a sweet and innocent look.  
  
“That…sounded so wrong,” Sunny drawled, shaking his head and blowing a bit of hair out of his face. “Anyway, after I get the characters and plot, it’s pretty much up to me to sit down at my computer and type the chapters out. I’ve learned my lesson though. If I want to write chapter stories, I need to write and edit them before I start posting.”  
  
“Why?” Brandywine asked, tilting his head to look at Sunny, green eyes meeting green eyes.  
  
“Because if I don’t I find it takes me a long while to get a fresh chapter out to my readers,” Sunny answered simply, smiling brightly at Brandywine. “Do you have any idea how utterly SCARY fan girls and boys are? They terrify even me, and if my 300 pound lummox of a cousin can’t scare me, then that’s saying something.”  
  
“Ah, yes…I see your point,” Brandywine sighed, shaking his head. “Hey, with your fan fictions, you said you need to know the characters right? Well, how do you choose the fandom?”  
  
“Ah, that’s the easiest part of the entire thing. The idea already comes with a fandom,” Sunny said, smiling enigmatically.   
  
“That’s not a real answer!!” Brandywine complained as Sunny stood up suddenly wanting to write something. Sitting down, he waved a hand at his creation and started typing.   
  
“Yes it is. Now, shoo with you. I’m writing,” he retorted, starting to type out the newest story in his head.  
  
 _Why was he doing this? Why did he stay in a world, in a place, where the people hated him or loved him, never choosing one to settle on? Why did he stay in a world that expected so much from him, putting him on a pedestal then tearing him down just as quickly?_


	2. Research - Lin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Conversations with my Muse  
> Subject: Research  
> Muse: Lin  
> Edited by: Beastie  
> AN: Thank you all for reading these! Seriously. It means a lot to me. I have to thank Beastie for being so patient with me and what not. He knows what I'm talking about and knows this. I poked at this story and decided since nothing was really going to be changed anyways...to just post the sucker. 
> 
> So enjoy. Really.
> 
> Reviews are loved on and responded to quickly.

“Another day, another headache caused by sinus pressure,” the man moaned softly as he kicked the recliner back, remote in one hand and painkillers in another. “Why am I the one to suffer?”  
  
“Because it is allergy season and you have a bush next to your window, a flowering tree next to your bathroom window, and palm trees along your route to job hunting,” replied a male with dark-purple hair pulled into a neat bun at the base of his neck. His violet-red eyes swept over the sprawled male, getting a glare from green eyes in return.  
  
“Aren’t you supposed to be helping me write  _Dream Catcher_ , Lin?” Sunny asked, eyeing the male lounging on his futon; the chocolate color of his furniture a stark contrast to the purple of Lins’ hair and the shades of gold that created his outfit.  
  
“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed instead of writing smut?” Lin retorted, his dark eyes dancing.  
  
“Why was I blessed with annoying muses?” the other groaned, letting his head relax against the recliner. Putting the remote down onto one arm, he reached for his bottle of iced tea, taking his medication under Lins’ watchful eyes.  
  
“Because we love you,” Lin replied finally, raising an eyebrow at the other as he sat back against the futon, legs crossed.  
  
“So, why are you here?” Sunny asked as he flipped the TV onto a favored channel.  
  
“Why do you think I’m here for anything?” the purple haired man asked sweetly, receiving a snort and a glare in return. “You seem to like doing that. Anyways, I’m here to ask you about researching.”  
  
“Researching for what?” Sunny asked, jotting a name down with a pencil, making a note to check it out later.  
  
“Can you clarify that for me? I meant, what do you mean, ‘researching for what?’” Lin requested, uncrossing and than recrossing his legs, raising an eyebrow at the show that his creator was watching.  
  
“Shoot me. I like ‘Paranormal State’. Anyways,” Sunny said, waving a hand. “what type of research? Every kind falls into three main categories. There is story research, research just for fun, or essay researching. All of them have a different style of note taking and information hunting.”  
  
“Ah, I see. Well, how about we do all three in order?” Lin replied shifting as Sunny turned the volume down on the TV.  
  
“Let’s start with the various avenues of ways you can research first, yeah?” Sunny hummed, getting a nod and a smile. “Okay, there is, as you know, the net with various search engines such as Yahoo, Google, Ask and a few others. Next are books, which you do not really have to buy if you do not want to, or do not plan to keep them after you are done with them. I like the library or second-hand bookstores for them actually. If your public library does not have what you need, check out the local college library and see if you can look through their books.  
  
“You can also talk to experts, other people who are interested in the subject and museums. They usually have some good book and magazine recommendations to check out. Yes, I said magazine. Things like National Geographic, informational magazines. Not things like  _Vogue_ ,” he said, holding up a finger to stop the question.  
  
“Alright. So those are…” Lin trailed off, raising an eyebrow.  
  
“They are some of the ways to get your information, beyond jotting down what you know or remember about the subject. Now, let us talk about the easiest research all kind. Researching for the fun of it,” the brunette said after a few moments of thinking. “Pretty much, all you do with this is figure out a subject that you find enjoyable or interesting and then use the various ways to find out the information for that subject. I would suggest writing out a list of key words you can use during your search.”  
  
“Key words?” Lin asked, interrupting the other male smoothly only to get an empty bottle tossed at him.  
  
“What I mean is using words that connect to the subject. Take, um, something like the ‘Hobbit’ skeleton that was found on that one Indonesian Island; Flores, if I remember correctly,” Sunny started, pulling his legs up into the Indian style sitting position. “Now, the key words I’d use, and have used, would be [u]hobbit, skeleton, human ancestors[/u] and, of course the so called scientific nick name of the creature, which, no, I don’t remember.” Pausing, Sunny grabbed his blanket and pulled it over his legs as he shifted, gathering his thoughts once more.  
  
“Now, while researching for fun, you don’t have to take notes if you don’t want to. Since I have this utterly horrid habit of writing about what I research, even for fun, I do. I use a basic layout for my notes and it’s usually a word document,” he continued, looking at Lin with a raised eyebrow. “Any questions?”  
  
“Yeah. The basic layout, what is it?” the other male asked, pulling his own legs up to sit his feet near his hip, hands finding a fluffy white throw pillow to pull close and hug.  
  
“Well, if I’m hand writing them, I would write out the title, the site that I found it on and then just write short notes on the article, pretty much summarizing each paragraph in as few words as possible,” Sunny stated, tapping his bottom lip. “I’d also add the date it was written and the author’s name. Same with a word document, but I would add the link, before neatly adding the title, author and date written before using the bulleting system. Which is the little button on the top of most Word programs,’ he said, stopping the question before it started.  
  
“So, you’d make it all nice and neat, just so you could read it?” Lin asked smirking as Sunny once more tossed something at him.  
  
“Back to the research, I’d do it for as long as the subject holds my attention. Researching for a story is a bit more in-depth, but not much. It’s pretty much the same thing, just with more time spent on it,” the brunette said, sipping his tea and wrinkling his nose in distaste at the warmth. Getting up, he continued with his lecture, “With story research, you have to know exactly what you want to look up. Again, write out a list of key words, adding to it as you go along and use the resources available around you.  
  
“I prefer using books for story research since I can do it while sitting in bed before I crash for the night. But it’s all a personal prerogative on how someone will do it,” he said, opening his refrigerator and putting the bottle onto a self before grabbing one of his sodas. Moving back, he plopped down and crossed his legs before popping the leg rest of the recliner up once more.  
  
“So, what about the notes for the story research? I know that you and Chynyll, when you guys wrote together, used to look up information as you wrote,” Lin said, tilting his head to the side, squeezing the pillow in his arms lightly.  
  
“I do that for my co-author projects because we never really know what will happen. But with my original stories, or even my fan fiction, I will go out and do some research. Again, I will take down notes, usually using a semi formal note format. Usually 1-a-b-c, 2-a-b-c,” Sunny said, popping the top of his soda.  
  
“What is that format? 1-a-b-c, 2-a-b-c...it sounds confusing,” Lin hummed, tapping his bottom lip.  
  
“Not really. All it does is to put things into a more orderly fashion for later reference. The number is the sub topic to a main topic, or the plot in the case of a story. Then the letters are your details, possibly with bullets under those for extra detail or questions. It’s to make it easier to find your information later on,” Sunny explained, waving a hand. “It works really well for essay research, which I will get into after I finish with story research.”  
  
“Fine, oh great and wondrous one. Story research,” Lin prompted, flopping out onto the futon with a huff, his eyes sparkling brightly in the low light causing Sunny to sigh and rub his head.  
  
“For story research, the notes don’t really need to be that detailed as to use the 1-a-b-c method, but it is suggested by veteran authors that you try it a few times for a few chapters. I’ve done it before and found that it works when I need to cover a few things in a chapter,” Sunny said, shifting to let one leg lay out in front of him. “When I research for a story, I do it in Word for the simple fact it’s easier to go back and add details as they come up. I usually have a very specific point of what I need to research and stick to it.  
  
“With some of my plots, I have several points I need to research and end up having to shift through a lot of information to find what I need for the story. But I know what I want and I know the plot, so that works really well for me,” he continued, shifting and looking at Lin with dark green eyes. “As for essay research, I get a bit more detailed and use every source available to me. I’ve been known to take enough notes to fill a rather large binder for my essays and only use a part of it, for the simple fact that I might end up using something later on in the process.”  
  
“Okay, so you’re saying that with essay research it’s more in-depth?” Lin asked, getting a nod. “Huh, no joking…”  
  
“Nope. What I usually do is have the main points that I want to make. Take the Salem Witch Craft Trials for example. With an essay like that, I would have a topic sentence like  _The Salem Witch Trials: the who’s, how’s and causes._  That would cover everything that would be needed, from the history and people to the various possible causes such as mass hysteria and drugged up illusions,” Sunny said, waving a pencil in the air.   
  
“So, you’d take your topic sentence and then, what? Break it down?” Lin asked, looking at the other male.  
  
“Yep. The number would be the basics such as history, people, places, things, et cetera. Then, as I worked through an article, I would add notes and details, slowly reading so I did not miss anything. Once more, I’d use a word program to do this in since it comes out much neater,” Sunny said, nodding his head. “While using books, I’d take down the copyright date, the people and the place, everything you need to create a bibliography at the end; which is needed half the time anyways. After that, it’s just a matter of fleshing out the story and making it understandable.”  
  
“That’s all there is to research?” Lin asked, incredulous as Sunny burst out laughing.   
  
“Research is still long and complicated considering that you actually have to shift through the information. It takes time to find the jewels, especially when you are using a search engine. You have to sit there to read, click and curse your way to what you need,” Sunny said, shifting so that the recliner was lying backwards. “Now, once you have what you need it’s just a matter of fleshing out your notes after figuring out what you’re going to use.”  
  
“And here I thought you just winged it,” Lin teased, getting a soft laugh and a shaken head.   
  
“I do that with some of my stories since I have no set plot half the time but more of an idea and a general direction. Otherwise, I research. Now, leave me to sleep in peace,” the male huffed, turning onto his side, curling up under his blanket, and ignoring the snickering Lin who slowly faded away. Smiling, he curled up a bit and made a note to write down this conversation for later reference.   
  
He had some good blackmail material.


	3. Loss - Cherry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Conversations with My Muse  
> Subject: Loss  
> Muse: Cherry  
> Edited: Beastie  
> AN: This…was written by me on Memorial Day…okay, more like started on Memorial Day. Seeing as I’m going down to Mexico on Friday (this being Thursday) I figured I’d post this today before I forget. So…sad. Really. That’s all. 
> 
> Enjoy.

“I had a grandfather once,” he said, blowing out a slow stream of smoke. His eyes clouded over in remembrance as he stared at the flag that fluttered in the breeze.  
  
“Oh?” asked a tall male with red-banged black hair. The males’ tail curled on one thigh as he put the book he had been reading to the side before sending the swinging chair moving again. He watched as Sunny took another drag off of his cigarette and blew out the sweet smelling smoke.  
  
“Yeah. I had a couple of them actually. And a couple of grandmothers,” Sunny finally said, watching the palm trees sway lightly in the breeze, before following the path of a raven. “They’re all gone though. Died during my high school years for various reasons.”  
  
“Haven’t you lost more than them?” the cat asked, shifting so that his knees were pulled up, resting his head on them. Watching the sad, soft smile flutter over full lips, he hummed as Sunny sipped his iced tea, once more watching the palm trees.  
  
“Yeah, I have,” Sunny hummed. “I don’t talk about them often because…well, I don’t want pity. I don’t need it. Can not stand it. And I won’t give it, Cherry.”  
  
“Why not?” Cherry asked curiously.  
  
“Because pity is nothing more than a pathetic attempt at understanding the persons’ pain. It’s insulting on top of it,” Sunny said, jabbing the cigarette stub into ash like sand. Tapping the pack against his legs, he sighed and shook his head. “I don’t try to understand some one’s pain. I don’t really want to. I carry my fair share of hurt and pain and hatred. And I know this. I don’t hide it.”  
  
“I see,” Cherry hummed quietly. “Whom have you lost?” he finally asked after a few minutes of just swinging back and forth, while Sunny kept playing with the pack in his hands.  
  
“The first person I can remember losing was a great uncle that I have vague memories of. I was in Junior High at the time; 7th grade if I remember correctly. My aunt had called my mom that day and told her that he had died during a nap. It was painless, apparently. We didn’t come down for his funeral; no money and no time to do it,” he said, shoving a bit of his hair back.   
  
Cherry nodded and grabbed a small bag from the side of the swing before digging around. Pulling out a long pipe, he packed it full of tobacco and lit it before slowly drawing on it.  
  
“That’s sad,” he said, slowly blowing out a long stream of smoke at a curious cat and watching it bat at the smoke. Smiling, his tail twitching, he turned back to the other male.   
  
“It was sad in the way that I don’t even remember him, or his name, and he was one of the few people in my family I was supposed to know,” Sunny snorted, shifting so he could stretch out and lean against a pillow. He smiled sadly just as the cat jumped into his lap. Stroking behind its orange-colored ear, he continued with a hum, “How did you get out, Frosting? Doesn’t your mommy have a screen door to keep you in?”  
  
“She does, but he still gets out,” Cherry snorted, smiling at the name. “Who was the next person you lost?”  
  
“Ah, it was when I was a freshman in high school. I got the call the night before my mid-terms were to start. To tell you the truth, that threw off my entire schedule. I was kinda sitting there, listening to a series of music tapes that a friend had made for me and working on my math notes, when another friend called me,” Sunny replied, stroking a hand down Frosting’s sleek back. “Alanna had died earlier that day, apparently of a major asthma attack. She wasn’t able to get to her inhaler and…well...it just wasn’t a very nice way to go. No one was home.”  
  
“So she died on her own,” the youkai breathed, shaking his head slightly. “That had to suck.”  
  
“It did, since if someone had been home like they were supposed to, she would have lived,” Sunny said, snorting as he drew out a fresh cigarette from his pack. Putting it between his lips, he struck a match and lit it before waving the match to put it out. Dropping it into the sandy ash, he settled back once more.  
  
“What do you mean by that?” Cherry asked before pressing his lips around the end of his pipe, drawing in some of the sweet smoke.  
  
“I mean that her asthma was so bad that she had to have someone with her at all times, no ifs, ands, or buts about it,” Sunny replied, his voice bitter. “Her brother left her alone to run to the corner store, apparently. He told her he was going to be gone for five minutes and no more. Yeah, right. He ended up getting high with some friends and was gone for three hours, the last half hour of which she died alone. He ended up in jail for about six months for the weed usage.”  
  
“Now that sucks,” Cherry breathed out, white smoke floating around his head as he watched Sunny take a slow drag. Watching him slowly exhale, he shook his head and scratched the cat’s head as she came over to bat at his tail.  
  
“Yeah, big time. After I lost her, I lost my friend. Her name was Nikki. Nicole really, but we called her Nikki. Gods, she was kicking. She was killed in a hit and run,” Sunny continued, his voice softening with remembrance. “She was going to be a senior that year and I was going to be a junior. We were one month away from starting a new year. That year was not a good year for me. Nor was senior year, really.”  
  
“Did you go to her funeral?” Cherry asked, tapping his spent tobacco into the can before putting his pipe aside. Sunny shook his head with a sigh.   
  
“Nope. Her body wasn’t exactly salvageable. If she had lived she would have ended up on crutches or a cane even after years of physical therapy,” Sunny replied, watching Cherry nod and nibble his lip. “I didn’t go to my other friends’ funeral either.”  
  
“Why not?”   
  
“I was 16 and couldn’t get out of school for it at the time. I don’t think it would have been a good thing for me anyway. After I lost her, I lost my grandfather, two days after Christmas mind you. That just kinda fucked the whole holiday over for me in the long run. Hell, I don’t do trees any more. I have a little ceramic one that I inherited from my grandmother that lights up,” he said, sitting up and kicking the swing into motion again. “We still decorate, but it’s still hard to look at the ornaments that I got from them.”  
  
“I can understand that pain,” Cherry sighed quietly, his eyes closing as he enjoyed the breeze that brought the scent of rain with it.  
  
“Yeah. They were both cremated. My aunt still has my grandfather’s ashes and we have my step-grandmother’s ashes. She died the April after grandfather did; of cancer. She…just didn’t want to live after losing him,” Sunny said softly, eyes sad. “I’m hoping to spread her ashes with his some day. Until then, after I get some cash, I’m gonna get her an urn. She’s sitting on the family bible at the moment.”  
  
“Sounds nice, the spreading together part,” the youkai mused, a smile twitching his lips.  
  
“Yeah, that was junior year of high school. The July before senior year, I lost my grandpa to a heart attack. Just dropped dead right in front of the hospital he was coming out of for his knee,” the small male replied, taking another drag of smoke. “We went down for his funeral. Let me tell you, middle of July in Yuma, military funeral, black out fit and shoes that have heels on them? Not fun, not fun at all.”  
  
“You wore heels?” Cherry asked, choking on the soda he was drinking.  
  
“Low heeled shoes. They went with the outfit, damnit. My aunts wore three inch heeled shoes,” Sunny snorted, shaking his head with a sigh. “Anyway, we did the viewing and main part of the funeral in the main chapel and then the 7-Gun Salute and the flag folding outside under sun top. Made it easier.”  
  
“Did you cry then?” Cherry asked after several moments of silence.  
  
“Not then. I cried when I heard. I cried in private. But never in front of my family. I was called a cold hearted bitch by a few of my friends when they asked me and I said no,” Sunny replied, snorting. “They asked if I cried at the funeral though and not when I was alone. Or when I was mourning with my grandmother.”  
  
“That…why?” Cherry asked.  
  
“Because I’m the second oldest of all of my cousins and me and my mother are expected to be the strong ones,” Sunny said with a cold voice. “We’re not allowed to publicly mourn. We have to be the ones to support the family. It’s not fun and we don’t do it any more than needed. Of course, my grandma died of heart break that November. Ended up spending the last three weeks of that month there for the funeral, and then the rest selling off her estate.”  
  
“Fun times,” Cherry said, sarcasm dripping from every word.  
  
“Oh, yes. One aunt trying to control the way things go, another aunt breaking down, my uncles being rather useless in helping since they’re trying to deal with my aunts and my mom and me just trying to figure things out. Finished up with my mom separating out most things. We kept most of grandmas’ jewelry,” Sunny finished, sighing quietly and shoving a bit of hair back.  
  
“Was she buried or was she cremated?” Cherry asked.  
  
“Buried right next to grandfather with a poem by me, pictures of the family and a picture of her and granddad,” Sunny replied, stabbing his cigarette into the sandy ash. “Haven’t lost anyone else since. Which is a good thing since I don’t think I can stand that pain any more.”  
  
“I feel ya,” Cherry sighed and saluted the flag. “What happened to your grandfather’s flag?”  
  
“It’s waiting to be sealed in my moms drawer,” Sunny said, shifting to sit up as the flag above them started to move faster with the wind.  
  
“I see,” Cherry hummed, eyes trained on the flag. “So why are you telling me this?”  
  
“Because it’s Memorial Day, and I wanted to remember them. I miss them, no matter what people say.”   
  
“You’re not a cold hearted bitch.”  
  
“I know. I hurt too much to be one.”


	4. Information Dumps - Jean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Conversation With My Muse  
> Chapter/Part: 4  
> Muse: Jean  
> Subject: Information dumps  
> AN: So, after quite a bit of time, I have a new one. Unbeta'd. But meh, it's been sitting around since June...or there about. Anyways, enjoy.

Staring at his sudden visitor, Sunny couldn’t help but wonder why the confused looking muse was sitting before him. One moment, he was sitting alone, watching MIB and the next, he was staring at a blue eyed male before him. Brushing some hair back out of his face, Sunny settled back onto his pillows, legs crossing as he waited to be told why he had decided to pop up and bug him when he had no monitor to type up his already large pile of writing.  
  
“So, what are you doing here, Jean?”  
  
Okay, so he couldn’t wait for the other to tell him the reason for his visit. It was too early in the morning to deal with this shit and his movie was waiting for him.  
  
“What the fuck is an information dump?” Jean asked, brows furrowing together. Sunny blinked at the sudden question and turned his movie off having a feeling this was going to be interesting.  
  
“Why do you want to know?” the writer asked, turning the channel to a movie to listen to as he answered the others question.  
  
“Well, while you were working on that epic one shot, along with Braders story, you kept thinking ‘no dumping information, that would be bad’,” the slim were replied, moving from bed to desk chair, sitting back in it.  
  
“Well, an information dump is pretty much an overload of details in one or two paragraphs,” Sunny said, turning back to his television.  
  
“Huh?” was the oh so articulate response, causing Sunny to sigh and shake his head.  
  
“Okay, how to explain this…” he trailed off, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses.  
  
“Starting from the beginning would be nice,” Jean said, propping his feet on the bed as Sunny flipped the channels again.  
  
“Alright. Well, when writing a story you want to spread out your plot,” Sunny started, shifting and looking to his muse. Jean nodded and looked at the other, fascinated with the way Sunny looked while talking. “So you have your plot, now the details make up the story. But you don’t want chunks of details to happen.”  
  
“What do you mean by chunk?” Jean asked as Sunny grabbed his water and sipped at it.  
  
“I mean where you take something that can be described over three or four pages and shove it into a couple of paragraphs,” was the reply, putting his cup down and raising an eyebrow at the other. “Such as action scenes, which should be, at minimum, a chapter long, or the description of a character.”  
  
“I’ve seen you describe a character in a few paragraphs though,” Jean cut in, pointing a finger at his creator.  
  
“Six or seven, yes, one or two, no,” Sunny retorted, shaking his head again. “It depends on your writing style really. Now, back on subject,” he continued, leveling a glare at his muse. Jean just smiled sweetly at Sunny and nodded his head. “As I was saying, when you condense something you end up with an information dump. Summaries can be considered them if you’re not really careful,” he explained, pausing to let the information sink into Jeans mind.  
  
“Got an example?” the muse asked after a few moments.  
  
“Yeah, let’s see,” Sunny mused, running a finger over his bottom lip as he though. “Okay, an information dump can look our sound something like this. _Hi, my name is Alfric Mantic, I’m 18, date a guy with a huge dick and am quite the bottom boy. I go to this school, work at this place and do this in my spare time. I have brown eyes, brunette hair, pale skin and I’m 186 pounds. Oh and I have a tattoo on my back.”_  
  
Jean blinked and tilted his head to the side as his brain stuttered, trying to keep all of the information straight. Sunny snickered softly as he nodded.  
  
“Okay, information dump bad,” Jean whimpered, shaking his head.  
  
“Very. Too much information at once can confuse people, make it hard to keep it straight in the first place,” Sunny explained, waving a hand before flipping the channel again. “It also shortens the story and time to build up to your climax, which is another subject all together.”  
  
“So, to get this straight, information dumps are when the writer shoves as much detail into a small space as possible,” Jean said slowly.  
  
“Yep. Well, as much detail as they can without adding supporting details,” Sunny expanded, grabbing his binder and pen, finding a fresh sheet of paper.  
  
“Alright. Now, as for why they are bad, it’s because they can confuse the reader by…” Jean started, eyeing the other as he jotted something down.  
  
“Giving the reader too much information at once with out any chance to absorb it,” the man replied.   
  
“I see,” Jean hummed, pulling one leg up and blinking. “I can see why they are bad then.”  
  
“Did I answer your question then?” Sunny asked, tilting his head once more.  
  
“Yeah, you did. Thanks,” Jean chirped before disappearing. Sunny huffed and rolled his eyes, going back to his new story.


	5. Commas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Conversation with My Muses
> 
> Fandom: Originals
> 
> Subject: Commas
> 
> Word count: 2,031
> 
> AN: This is REALLY long. I originally started writing it as a part of a thing about punctuation but seeing as it ended up going on for 7 pages, I shifted it to its own page. Please, take the time to go through here and read over things.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you.

_Sitting before his computer, he stared at just how long the rules of the comma took before selecting the section and cutting it to place into a new document._

 

_It was too long to keep in the main punctuation Conversations. People would have to deal._

 

_He dreaded the HTML coding that he was going to have to do as it was. Dreading it to a point that he shuddered hard and shook his head to forget about it for the moment._

 

The Comma

 

Possibly the most over used piece of punctuation, the main uses of the comma are  **to separate main clauses that are linked by one coordinating conjunction, set off most introductory elements or off nonessential elements, to separate items in a series or to separate coordinate adjectives.**

 

Due to the length of this section the rules of the comma are as follows:

 

(o) When using the comma with a main clause and a coordinating conjunction, it goes  _before_ , not after, the coordinating conjunction.

 

(o) As long as the omission of the comma does not cause confusion, you can omit it after a short subordinate clause or prepositional phrase. Either way, using it is never wrong.

 

(o) Be careful when it comes to words ending in –ing. The ones used as modifiers almost always take one, the ones used as subjects almost never do.

 

(o) To test for nonessential and essential elements, find the element, and remove it. If the sentence still makes sense without the element, then it is a nonessential element. If it doesn’t make sense, it is an essential element.

 

(o) When an element falls in the middle of a sentence under  **other nonessential elements** , you set them off with commas.

 

Section A: coordinating conjunction linking main causes:

 

**Main clauses:**

This is a word group that contains a subject and a verb and does not being with a subordinating word.

**Main clauses Example:**

 Water freezes at temperatures below 32 degrees F.

 

 **Coordinating Conjunctions:** They are  _and, but, or, nor_  and sometimes  _for, so, yet._

 

**Linked main clauses and coordinating conjunctions example:**

  1. Caffeine can keep coffee drinkers alert **, and**  it may elevate their mood.
  2. Caffeine was once thought to be safe **, but** now researchers warn of harmful effects.



 

Section B: Introductory Elements

 

**Introductory Element:**

This begins a sentence and modifies the word or words in the main clause that follows after.

 

(o) There are four ways for this: a  **subordinate**   **clause, verbal or verbal phrase,** a  **prepositional phrase,** or a **transitional expression.**

 

**Subordinate clause:**

This is a word group that contains a subject and a verb and because with a subordinating word such as  _because_  or _who_  and is not a question.

 

**Subordinate clause Example:**

Even when identical twins are raised apart, they grow up very much like each other.

 

**Verbal or Verbal phrase:**

A verb form used as an adjective, adverb or noun. Verbal plus any object or modifier.

 

**Verbal or Verbal phrase Example:**

**Explaining the similarity,**  some researchers claim that one’s genes are one’s destiny.

 **Concerned,**  other researchers deny the claim.

 

**Prepositional phrase:**

This is a word group that consists of a preposition, such as  _for_  or  _in_.

It is followed by a noun or pronoun plus any modifiers.

 

**Prepositional Phrase Example:**

**In a debate that has lasted centuries,**  scientists use identical twins to argue for or against genetic destiny

 

**Transitional expression:**

This is a word or phrase that shows the relationship between sentences.

 

**Transitional expression Example:**

**Of course** , scientists can now look directly at the genes themselves to answer questions.

 

Section C: Nonessential Elements

 

There are of course  **nonessential elements, essential elements** (otherwise known as  **restrictive elements** ), **nonessential phrases and clauses, nonessential appositives,** and  **other nonessential elements.**

 

**Nonessential element:**

Commas on either side of part of the sentence show that the part between them aren’t essential to the main sentence structure.

As long as the section can be removed, they are nonessential elements.

 

**Nonessential element Example:**

The company **, which is located in** **Oklahoma** **,**  has an excellent reputation.

 

**Essential Elements:**

 This element is needed. Without it, the sentence or the elements around it would lose the meaning. It is  _not_  set off with commas.

 

 **Essential Element Example** :

The company rewards employees **who work hard**.

 

**Nonessential phrases and clauses:**

These mostly function as adjectives to modify nouns or pronouns.

They can be omitted without losing clarity of the sentence.

 

**Nonessential phrases and clauses example:**

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to graduate from American medical school **, in 1849.** [Phrase]

 

She taught at the school **, which was affiliated with the** **New York** **Infirmary.**  [Clause]

 

**Nonessential Appositives:**

An appositive is a noun that renames another noun immediately before it.

Nonessential ones are ones that aren’t needed.

 

 **Nonessential Appositive Example** :

Toni Morrison’s fifth novel **, _Beloved,_**  won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988.

 

**Essential Appositive:**

These appositives limits or defines the word that it is connected to.

 

**Essential Appositive Example:**

Morrison’s novel  ** _The Bluest Eyes_**  is about an African American girl who longs for blue eyes.

 

 **Other nonessential elements:** this includes absolute phrases, parenthetical and transitional expressions, phrases of contrast, tag questions, Yes and No, words of direct address and mild interjections.

 

**Other nonessential/essential elements examples:**

**Domestic recycling have succeeded,**  the city now wants to extend the program to businesses. [Absolute Phrases]

 

The world’s most celebrated holiday is **, perhaps surprisingly,**  New Year’s Day. [Parenthetical expression]

 

American workers **, for example** , receive few holidays then European workers do. [Transitional expression]

 

The substance **, not the style,** is important. [Phrases of Contrast]

 

Jones should be allowed to vote **, should he not?**  [Tag Questions]

 

 **Yes,**  the editorial did have a point. [Yes and No]

 

 **Cody,** please bring me the newspaper. [Words of direct address]

 

 **Well,**  you will never know who did it. [Mild interjections]

 

Section D: Series

 

A series is a list in a way. They are three or more items of equal important and they can be words, phrases or clauses.

 

 **Example:**  Anna Spingle married at the age of seventeen **,**  had three children by twenty-one **,** and divorced at twenty-two.

 

:next: There are those authors who do not use the comma before the coordinating conjunction in the series. Remember, coordinating conjunctions are such words as  _and_. But please keep in mind, that the final comma is NEVER wrong.

 

Section E: Two or more adjectives that equally modify the same word

 

(o) Instead of using a word like  _and_  you can replace it with a comma if you so wish, but it must be an adjective that **equally**  modifies the same word.

 

**Example:**

Spingle’s scratched and dented car is an eyesore, but it gets her to work.

She dreams of a sleek, shiny car.

 

:next: A quick test to figure out if you should have the adjectives separated is to first identify the adjectives. After you have them identified, ask yourself if they could be reversed without changing the meaning. When you have that answer, then ask yourself if the word  _and_  can be placed between them without changing the meaning. If you answered Yes to both, then place a comma or the word  _and_  in between them. If you answered No to both questions, leave them be.

 

Section F: Dates, addresses, place names and long numbers

 

(o) When you write a date, an address, or place names, if they are punctuated with commas, they should end with a comma.

 

(o) Do not use commas between the parts of a date that is inverted, such as 15 December 1992, or which is just a month or season and a year, such as December 1958.

 

(o) Do not use a comma between a state name and a zip code.

 

(o) You use the comma to separate the figures in a long line of numbers into groups of three, which you count backwards from the end of the line. With a group of four numbers, the comma is optional.

 

**Dates:**

July 4, 1776, was the day the Declaration was signed.

 

**Addresses and Place Names:**

I live at 234 Randel Street, LA, California 85632.

 

I want to go see Dublin, Ireland.

 

**Long Numbers:**

Her ending price for the massive shopping was $4,624,852.

 

Section G: Quotations according to standard practice

 

A signal phrase is such sections as  _she said, he writes_  and the such. As writers, we’ve used them to indicate dialogue. They should be separated from the main section by a comma or commas.

 

**Example:**

Naruto snorted and said, “I hate that you’re an idiot. We’re even.”

“Life is like a bullet, Shinji,” Ichigo said softly, smiling at his lover.

“Hey, Neji,” Naruto called out, “can you get me something?”

 

(o) The exceptions are that when a signal phrase interrupts a quotation between main clauses, you need to follow it with a semicolon or a period. It depends on the sentence and the line. Above, the signal phrase interrupts the question, which requires the signal phrase to have it end with a comma.

 

(o) You do not use a comma when the signal phrase follows a quotation that ends with an exclamation point or a question mark. This means that if your piece of dialogue is a question, place the question mark at the end of the spoken words, close your quotation marks and write your signal phrase.

 

(o) You don’t use a comma when you have a quotation that is integrated into your sentence. This is quite literally the quote in an essay or the such.  **Not** dialogue.

 

(o) Finally, you don’t use a comma with a quoted title  _unless_  it is a nonessential appositive.

 

Section H: Delete them when you don’t need them

 

What can be said about this? If a line does not need them, remove them. How can you tell? Well, you don’t have them between a  **subject and verb, verb and object, a**   **preposition and object, most compound constructions, conjunction, _around_  essential elements,  _around_  a series **and not  **before an indirect quotation**. They can make a sentence read and look choppy and on occasion, confusing. If they are used too much, you end up breaking rules and a lot of them.

 

Vocabulary that you will need for this section.

 

(o) Compound constructions that consist of two elements nearly never need a comma. The only time they do are when two main clauses are linked by a coordination conjunction.

 

**Example:**

The computer failed, but employees kept working.

 

**Nonessential appositive:**

A word or words that rename an immediately preceding noun but do not limit or define the noun.

 

**Example:**

The author’s first story, “Biloxi,” won a prize.

 

**Compound construction:**

Two ore more words, phrases or clauses connected by coordinating conjuction, usually  _and, but, or, nor._

 

**Example:**

Man  _and_ woman, old  _or_ young, leaking oil  _and_ spewing steam

 

**Conjunction:**

A connection word such as a coordinating conjunction ( _and, but, or_  and so on) or a subordinating conjunction ( _although, because, when_ and so on)

 

Let us move onto to the examples for each part.

 

**Subject and verb, verb and object or preposition and object:**

**Not:**  The returning soldiers, received a warm welcome.

 **But:**  The returning soldiers received a warm welcome.

 

 **Not:** They had chosen, to fight for their country despite, the risks.

 **But:** They had chosen to fight for their country despite the risks.

 

**Most compound constructions:**

 

 **Not:**  Banks, and other financial institutions have helped older people with money management, and investment.

 **But:**  Banks and other financial institutions have helped older people with money management and investment.

 

 **Not:** One bank created special accounts for older people, and held classes, and workshops.

 **But:** One bank created special accounts for older people and held classes and workshops.

 

**After a conjunction:**

 

 **Not:** Parents of adolescents notice increased conflict at puberty, and, they complain of bickering.

 **But:** Parents of adolescents notice increased conflict at puberty, and they complain of bickering.

 

**Around Essential Elements:**

 

 **Not:** Hawthorne’s work,  _The Scarlet Letter_ , was the first major American novel.

 **But:** Hawthorne’s work  _The Scarlet Letter_  was the first major American novel.

 

**Around a series:**

 

 **Not:** The skills of, hunting, herding, and agriculture, sustained the Native Americans.

 **But:**  The skills of hunting, herding, and agriculture sustained the Native Americans.

 

**Before an indirect quotation:**

 

 **Not:** The report concluded, that dieting could be more dangerous then overeating.

 **But:**  The report concluded that dieting could be more dangerous then overeating.


End file.
